Protocol
Quant Engineering Lab Protocol
Quantitative claims often fail verification not because they are wrong, but because their boundaries were never explicitly defined. The Quant Engineering Lab (QEL) Protocol defines a public boundary for making quantitative claims verifiable. It specifies how a claim and its supporting evidence must be represented, so that independent parties can evaluate conformance without access to internal systems, proprietary logic, or execution environments. This protocol is concerned with structure and identity, not with computation.
What the QEL Protocol Is
The QEL Protocol is a versioned, public specification for packaging quantitative claims together with the evidence required to validate them independently. It defines how a claim is identified, how supporting artifacts are structured, and how conformance is evaluated against public criteria. The protocol is intentionally minimal. It does not attempt to standardize how results are produced, only how they are presented for verification.
What the Protocol Defines
The protocol boundary is described through publicly available specifications, including:
- Public schemas that define the shape and required fields of protocol artifacts.
- Reference artifacts that demonstrate valid structure and expected relationships.
- A verifier specification that defines conformance rules and evaluation outcomes.
- Versioned protocol definitions, allowing the protocol to evolve while preserving verifiability.
A protocol-conformant claim can be independently evaluated using only these public materials.
What the Protocol Deliberately Does Not Define
The QEL Protocol does not define:
- How quantitative results are computed or derived.
- Which algorithms, models, or statistical methods are used.
- Execution environments, runtimes, or infrastructure.
- Verification algorithms beyond conformance criteria.
- Internal or proprietary data models.
- The scientific or mathematical correctness of a claim.
These exclusions are intentional. The protocol draws a clear line between verification of form and identity and judgment of truth or quality.
Protocol Evolution and Stability
The QEL Protocol is designed to evolve through explicit versions. New protocol versions may introduce additional structure or constraints, but are intended to do so without invalidating previously verifiable claims. Historical claims remain interpretable within the protocol version under which they were produced. This allows the protocol to adapt while maintaining long-term auditability.
Where the Authoritative Definitions Will Live
This website is not the source of truth. Authoritative protocol definitions live in external, public repositories that host the canonical specifications, schemas, and verifier definitions. This page exists to describe the protocol boundary and to provide context. It summarizes what the protocol is responsible for — and what it is not.